He finished pissing, dropped his kilt, rushed to join me where I had pressed up against the wall. We both stood there with our backs to the stone, watching as the drone hovered at our window, the searchlight sweeping around the room.
The strong beam settled on our flashlight and paused.
Then the light began sweeping around the room again. I clutched Lochie’s hand and bent my knees, sliding down the wall to the floor, pulling him after me. We were hidden in a shadow behind the headboard of the bed.
We kept still, hoping it wouldn’t see us, trying not to breathe.
Finally it withdrew from the window.
We stayed quiet listening, then he said, “I think tis gone.”
“Lochie, what is happening?”
He looked right and left. “I daena ken.” He stood up, put out his hand to help me up, but the drone quickly rose up and flew over the window sill. The light beam directly on us, I was frozen in fear.
An amplified voice came from the drone:
“Lochinvar Campbell, you are under arrest. Ash MacNeil, you are under?—”
Lochie demanded, “Under what authority?”
“By the authority of Emperor Asgall of the Chronum Empire.”
Lochie said, “An empire, what dost ye mean, anempire?”
“Lochinvar Campbell you are under arrest by the authority of Emperor Asgall of the Chronum Emp?—”
Lochinvar said, under his breath, “Gather yer things, Ash.” Louder, he said, “I winna comply.”
I gathered all my stuff, turned off the flashlight and shoved it in the bag. Then I dug through for a gun. I wasn’t exactly sure it was loaded, I hadn’t been the one to pack it, but I didn’t have a lot to lose. I kept my back to the drone, counted to three, then spun around, yelling, “Lochie, Down!” and shot at the drone. I hit a rotor. The drone shot back, firing a staccato of bullets at the wall, but I had hit it.
It sank in the air, nearly crashing, then rose off-kilter, turning in a slow circle. It flew out the window, banging the sill as it cleared it.
Men were running down the halls toward our room. Lochie said, “Stow the gun, be ready tae go.”
We left the room, holding our bags. Lochie spoke animatedly with the men in the hall. Lochie described what he had witnessed, while others went into the room to investigate.
Lochie said, “I daena ken, there was a loud monstrous sound, twas like a cannon went off!”
I held onto Lochie’s sleeve as we backed away. Men were rushing up and down the stairwell, stalking up and down the passageway. Lochie explained what we had seen, while keeping the truth of it hidden, until we made it to the stairs and rushed down. I dragged my hand along the stone to keep my balance as we jogged down the uneven steps. We made it to the courtyard and raced to the stables, and waited with our back to the wooden wall while the stableboy saddled Finny. Lochie grew irritated and took over the job, working at top speed.
He shoved my bag into the saddlebag on the side of the horse, while I frantically looked out — the whirring sound was happening again.
I grabbed his arm. “What are we doing? We can’t! Where are we going?”
The drone flew over the wall and neared us, saying, “You are under arrest.”
The stableboy covered his ears and hid behind the horse stalls.
I pulled Lochie by the arm down the wall to hide behind a shadow. “They’re going to follow us, we can’t leave, oh no! Lochie, how many people are out there, waiting for us? They’ll capture us! I don’t want to get kidnapped again!”
Lochinvar said, “Aye, ye are right, Ashy, we canna leave.”
The drone pulled back.
Lochie stood up and peered around, then asked, “How does it ken where we are?”
“It might have a heat sensor.”
